A general view shows smoke billowing in Khartoum on 20 April 2023, as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals rages on. Photo by AFP
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has confirmed that 77 South African nationals are still stuck in violence-torn Sudan.
Dirco‘s head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, says security agencies are “far advanced” in their plans to evacuate South Africans who are stranded in the northeast African country.
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In a tweet on Sunday evening, Monyela said the South African government is doing everything possible to evacuate its citizens and diplomats, however, the situation was being hindered by continued fighting in Sudan.
He said this made the evacuation efforts a “dangerous and risky operation”.
Monyela added Dirco was communicating with South African nationals through a WhatsApp group, which included embassy staff who were also stuck in Sudan.
“The airport is closed and all routes are not risk-free. Government is doing everything possible to get our nationals out. Without revealing security plans, there’s an option that is being implemented. Updates will be provided,” read Monyela’s tweet.
France, Italy, Turkey and the United States have all evacuated their citizens from Sudan.
Ferocious battles between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group – which has seen fighting with tanks in densely populated Khartoum and air strikes launched by fighter jets – have killed more than 400 people and left thousands wounded.
RELATED: US embassy staff evacuated from Sudan’s capital
The fighting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo began on April 15, over a dispute on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.
The move was a key condition of a deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition after the military toppled former leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 following mass citizen protests.
The two men had joined forces to oust a civilian government installed after Bashir’s downfall, before turning on each other.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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